Ain't no mountain high enough

When you have SNOWSHOES on! I got Joe snowshoes for Christmas, so we didn't have to borrow all the time. This, in turn, meant that I would also have to buy them for myself. What a pity :)

So on our little mini-trip to Leavenworth, we went on 2 snowshoeing adventures. Once in Leavenworth and once at Stevens Pass, but on the other side of the ski area. At Stevens, we gained some major elevation and weren't too far from the top! I kept blaming my lack of breath on the high elevation... I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with my lack of exercise recently, right? In Leavenworth, however, it was a bit more flat. But we did forge the river because it was frozen over! I guess they call is Icicle River for a reason.

Near the top! Isn't it lovely? Minus my bright red nose. Am I Rudolf?

We even "off-roaded" a bit, which was my favorite part.

And I found this hole in the snow and took a rest.

And Joe conquered this mini-hill. This was in Leavenworth when we thought this was a big hill... before the monstrous mountain!

We ended up snowshoeing until the sunset, which isn't too late this time of year, but still. We're badass.

A new season

A couple weekends ago, we went snowshoeing at Snoqualmie Pass, probably for the last time this season. At the time, I was a little disappointed that the snowflakes were damp (not fluffy) and the temperature wasn't near as cold as it's been on past snowshoeing adventures. But then I got to thinking, this means that Spring is closer. I am happy to give up winter and all the snowy adventures it brings, to be able to wear fun sun dresses, retire my winter coat and actually leave work when it's light out.

As I've gotten older, I've realized that I am not the same winter-lovin' gal that I once was. I like me some sun (with sunscreen) and summer, filled with Chelanigans, weddings, and picnics.

What's your fave season?

Pigeon-toed snowshoer

Yep, I'm a pigeon-toed snowshoer.

Not sure exactly why, but my snowshoes kept creeping in at the top. (Well, it was probably my lack of experience getting my boots in the bindings...) After a little help, the problem was solved, but I definitely used a few muscles that aren't regularly used in the process.

But snowshoeing is oh-so-fun! It's not too tiring, but I still considered it cross-training. We also lucked out with some beautiful weather - the sky was clear and the sun was shining.

We "off-roaded" a bit to set-up a little picnic down by the water. (Yeah, we're rebels.) Despite having three layers, my butt was no match for the snowy ground. Thus, we ate in a hurry and headed back to the Snoqualmie State Park before the lions and tigers and bears, oh my, came out at night!

I dubbed the lake behind me, Lake Erika.

(What? It could be.)

Snowshoeing Extraordinaire.

Hairsicles

Last weekend, we went snowshoeing again. We couldn't help ourselves. The fluffy white snow was calling our names, "Erika! Joe! Come play!" (If only we knew it would hit us hard later!) So we packed a picnic, hot cocoa and headed east. But I apparently forgot to pack my common sense because my hair turned to ice. Next time, tuck it in your hat, Peterson. I had hairsicles.

But seriously. We love snowshoeing and want anyone and everyone to join us sometime. Except for the man running up the hillside in snowshoes. I would consider that self-inflicted torture. (Says the girl who willingly did this.)

Willkommen in Leavenworth

On the heels of this little video, Joe and I decided to make the trek over the pass to go to one of my favorite Bavarian towns on Earth: Leavenworth. (I guess I haven't been to any others, but it's still an AWESOME place.)

We meandered around the town, ate a schweinshaxe, drank German beer, wine tasted (did you know they now have 13 tasting rooms in the town?), visited the hat shop and Nutcracker museum, watched the Huskies win the Holiday Bowl and more! (Our snowshoeing adventures to come) Ironically, Erik, Shelly and Johan (Joe's family) were in town our last day, so we also visited with them over a drink and some sledding.

Overall, fabulous little mini-trip!

The classic welcome sign picture. How many times have I posed with that sign? I can't even count.

Schweinshaxe!

German beer the size of my head!

Can we please talk about how red my hair looks here? And how purple our teeth are? And how blue Joe's eyes are? And his awesome Swedish hat?

Nutcrackers galore. Joe was excited.

As I was trying to take of photo of Joe and Johan, all of a sudden the little bugger came crashing down directly for me. Then this continued for a good 30 minutes. I haven't seen a little kiddo laugh that much in a long time. Good times.

365 days

Today marks our 1 year anniversary! I can't even believe it's already been an entire year. How did this year go by so quickly?! So in honor of meeting my AMAZING boyfriend one year ago today, I present you a brief timeline of our relationship. (It was kind of fun to reminisce!)

November 23: First date. Joe chooses Cupcake Royale. OMG, cupcakes? Ding, ding, ding, ladies and gentlemen, we've found a winner. Oh, and I was completely entranced by his beautiful blue eyes. Slightly shaggy hair. And flannel shirt. He was lookin' good.

(Thanksgiving break throws us a loop in date-planning)

December 8: Third date. Joe makes me Swedish pancakes. Swedish pancakes? Grandma Pete would be so proud, even though no one beats her Swedish pancakes. Sorry, Joe. And Dad, for that matter.

December 12: Fifth date. Joe suggests bar games at the Duchess. Where is he getting this insider knowledge of my favorite things - cupcakes, Brouwer's (Date #2), Swedish pancakes, then DUCHESS?

The next 2 weeks: We hang out almost daily. He's a keeper.

December 31: First holiday together. Contributes to Joe's first appearance on the blog.

January 1: Sister gets into car accident. I am sad. Joe is there for comfort; helping me decipher what the docs are saying, having an open ear and still managing to put a smile on my face. This experience also made me realize how important he was to me.

January 9: I meet his brother and sister-in-law for sushi. Nervous as hell. I keep my Tourette's to a minimum and resist the “I work the corner of Aurora and 105th” joke when they ask about my job.

January 10: Dad meets Joe and he approves. (How could he not?) Maggie and Lily also approve.

Winter: Snowshoeing, cross country skiing, Choose Your Own Adventure birthday celebration, and so much more.

March 13: Mom meets Joe after months of asking to meet him. Smashing success. The Kobester is smitten... with my boyfriend!

March 27: First vacation together to Vancouver, BC. The constant downpour didn’t even get in the way of our fun.

April 24: Opening day of fishing with Joe, Dad and Kam. Joe catches the first fish, which was thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big.

June 26: Joe is waiting at mile 19 on the marathon course. Couldn’t have been a better time. He gave me a boost of energy, which helped bring me to the end.

July: Joe basically sacrificed all of his weekends for me – three weddings and some Chelanigans. But I’m sure he had fun doing so!

August 1: I finally meet his parents in Port Angeles. They approve or so he says :)

August 28: We hit the wide open road to California and Oregon for a week. We drink enough wine to, well, I don’t know, but it was good. (And the highlight of our year, as we recently discussed!)

September 14: Joe is very proud of the stuffed cow he won me at the Puyallup.

Halloween: He's the Al to my Peg (Bundy).

November 23: I sit here and still can't believe that I was lucky enough to find him. He's literally everything I've ever dreamed of. I love you so much, Joe!

2k10

On the heels of my 2k9 run down, I will share a few of my goals for 2010. I have a feeling it's going to be a good year.

• Successfully complete my first full marathon!
• Try snowshoeing.
• Go on another fun vacation, even though I'm not sure Hawaii can be beat.
• Take more yoga and hip hop classes. (I miss them both!)
• Make the trip to Portland to watch my nephew school all the kids in basketball.
• Cook more homemade meals from the best cookbook ever.
• Go on even more fun weekend trips. (Umm, Corvallis with Kimbie and others?)
• Win a trivia night.
• Celebrate someone's "21st birthday" (I'm so sorry I missed the first one. I hope this "birthday" coincides with a heckling session with Officer Newsome in Belltown. Just sayin')
• Win the lottery.
• Climb Mt. Constitution. (I missed the fun last time.)
• Take an actual lunch break with my coworkers more often.

Ok, so that's a start. More goals to come. Maybe I should also bring back my "Goal Project"?

In the end, Happy New Year, my friends!

via

Snowshoe Crew

On Sunday, Maddie, Casey, Joe and I took on Gold Creek Trail up at Snoqualmie Pass. We ordered up some blue skies and mild weather for the most perfect afternoon. It was a fairly easy trail and ended with a beautiful view. Throw in some picnic action, complete with hot cocoa and marshmallows (and great company!) and you've got yourself a successful winter outing. Gotta make the best out of cold, sometimes miserable weather, right? What do you do to fight the winter blues?

P.S. More snowshoeing adventures.
P.P.S. Maddie's take.


Joe likes to "off-road". Or maybe pretend like he's Bigfoot?

Hot cocoa tastes like heaven in the cold and at high elevations. Trust me on this one.

Winter Olympics 2014, here I come!

Contrary to what you may have thought, my first cross country skiing experience looked nothing like this.

However, I wouldn't say I was graceful by any means either. The thing is, it's not difficult to do, but it's difficult to do extremely well right off the bat. But I trucked along and didn't fall. (But came close when I took my eyes off the prize... err, trail.)

Behold, a future Olympic Gold Medalist in Cross-Country Skiing

The "Lewis and Clark" pose.

First snowshoeing, now cross-country skiing.

I'd say we're kinda badass.

TGIF

This weekend couldn't come soon enough. And this is why:

• It will be kicked off with a Hot Buttered Rum party at Ry Ry's place. (Yummy!)
• I'm finally going to sneak in another long run with Autumn and Maddie. It's been faaaaar too long.
• Another 3-day weekend! (leading into a 3-day work week since I'm taking next Friday off for Sunrivah!)
• I plan on sleeping in. A lot. It'll be magical.
• Nickybutt and Leanne's Housewarming Party on Saturday! They moved in a couple months back, but now they're officially ready to show off their new pad.
• Possibly some snowshoeing action on Monday. Perfect activity for a day off, if you ask me. (And I'll be able to check off another 2k10 goal!)
• Jack Bauer and 24 are back on Sunday! Stephers is going to cook din din for the 24 gang (Holden, Stacey, Team Barrows, Stephers and me) and we're going to watch JB save the world... again.

These ladies are also thinking TGIF. Can't you tell? Aren't their sparkly tops just lovely?!

A head above the rest

Aside from the poor gym picture quality, it is clear that Kam is a head above the rest of the kiddos in his basketball league. The thing is, he plays in the 1st-2nd grade division, he's in 1st and still the tallest. (As a reminder, we pretty much wear the same shoe and pant size...)

It was soooo much fun to watch him play on Saturday. He's not too aggressive and just sort of goes with the flow; occassionally looking at the sidelines to ensure that we're all watching, then sheepishly smiles and looks away. (Gosh, he's adorable.)

He made quite a few baskets which resulted in really, really loud "Yeah Kam!"s coming from the stands, particularly from his grandma. I had the same experience with my Grandma Toni. I think it must run in the family :)

This means I'm already making progess my Goal Project 2k10 list. Next up, maybe snowshoeing this weekend?

Two Years

When this man strolled into my life two years ago, I had no idea how much he would change my life for the better. He's the most thoughtful, caring, intelligent, funny, and handsome man - I couldn't have asked for a better partner-in-crime. While last year, I recounted our first year together, this year I'm going to share a few reasons why I love this man so much.

1. Have you seen his beautiful blue eyes?
2. And that smile. It certainly lights up a room.
3. We make a killer cooking duo.
   
4. He's proud of his Swedish heritage, which is uber-convenient for me to keep it alive in my family.
5. He's a perfect travel buddy.
   
6. He sits through a chick flick now and again.
7. He values education, which is important to me.
   
8. He knows the perfect response to, "does this look ok on me?"
9. He's a total gentleman.
10. When he's killing me on the tennis court, I can tell he gets a little loose on what's in or out. (Giving me the advantage, thank you)
11. My family adores him and I adore his family. Ditto in the friend department.
    
12. He is a genuinely good, good person.
    
13. Nurse Joe takes care of me when I'm sick. (Plus, let's me take care of him when he's under the weather.) He also has this crazy, quick instinct to ask if I'm ok when I hurt myself.
    
14. Tech Joe takes care of my technology.
    
15. He likes going on adventures like snowshoeing or finding new hikes.
16. We laugh together a lot. A lot.
    
17. In every situation, he has such great perspective.
18. He still gives me butterflies.
19. We want the same things out of life.
    
20. He's absolutely perfect.

That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Joe, I thank my lucky stars I found you. I love you dearly. Happy Anniversary!